Sydney Cup 2021 Announcement

Dear Delegates and Members,
 
BNSW has been asked for several years to revive the former State Cup format which has been so popular amongst our members. To that end, we have attempted to accommodate this via the new Sydney Cup competition which each Association had originally agreed to support.
 
However, the impact of COVID19 has put the beginning and end dates of this program under pressure causing several Associations to withdraw from the competition citing insufficient preparation time for their teams. The fact that a number of those Associations who have withdrawn from the competition have arranged inter Association games in lieu of the proposed Sydney Cup is disappointing.
 
Consequently, Baseball NSW regrets to inform you that due to the lack of commitment from the majority of our associations we will be unable to proceed with the 2021 Sydney Cup in its originally intended format.
 
Baseball NSW values its rich history and the immense contributions of the names on each of the Trophies – Worboys, Balfour, Shipley – and we will always try to uphold the integrity of competitions held in these names. Try as we may, we could not get enough teams to compete to create a viable competition.
 
However, Baseball NSW will continue to provide our members with more baseball opportunities for those Associations who have committed to support the event. We will run an abbreviated competition with teams in LL, JL and SL competing against each other. We’d like to thank MWDBA, HJBA, Giants Baseball Club, and Baseball ACT respectively for their continued support and willingness to see the Sydney Cup take place.
 
BNSW will continue to listen to our members and provide options for our clubs and Associations to participate in more forms of competition above their local level. We expect that in the following years, free of any pandemic, we will see the majority of our Associations commit to the Sydney Cup as a sanctioned Baseball NSW pathway event. We are noticing several Third-Party programs being offered which are not sanctioned by Baseball NSW or Baseball Australia purporting to be a pathway to Australian Team selection. I can assure you they are not.
 
Once again, I appreciate any effort made by those Associations to genuinely support Baseball NSW’s desire to provide you all with greater options and I look forward to a successful season for you all.
 
Regards,
Mark Marino - CEO